I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

"Then why don't you think he plays? The finals have such a huge audience, and he didn't accept the offer. Do you think he's out of his mind?"

"Maybe he's just not mentally sound? If he were, would he still be almost thirty and still not have debuted?"

"I originally thought Chen Liang would be the biggest surprise for me on this show, but unexpectedly, he became the biggest shock..."

……

Before the show started, Liu Ruying and her friends quietly slipped out from backstage and sat down, just in time to hear the host finish reading the rules.

Xiao Qing frowned: "Oh no, Chen Liang... no, it's Chen Ya. Chen Ya didn't come. Yun Shang'er won't lose, will she?"

Lu Qianzi glared and said, "No way, right? That's JX. How could he lose when he writes a song?"

"That's hard to say. How many of these people here know that Chen Liang is from JX?"

Lu Qianzi tugged at Lu Qingxuan beside her and asked, "Will Yunshang'er lose?"

Lu Qingxuan looked around absentmindedly, seemingly trying to find Chen Ya in the crowd, and said:

"To be honest, I'm not that worried."

"Your daughter must be so upset about losing. You're such a good friend of hers, aren't you worried?"

Lu Qingxuan said, "Qin Yunshang's songs have already earned him enough for his retirement. Even if he loses, he won't lack resources in the future. What's there to worry about? Right now, I'm only worried about..."

What are you worried about?

"I'm worried about Chen Ya."

These words were not spoken by Lu Qingxuan, but by Liu Ruying. After speaking, Lu Qingxuan looked at her with a hint of exasperation at being exposed.

Liu Ruying crossed her arms and glanced at her, saying, "I'm really worried about my boss. He wouldn't have remained completely silent unless he encountered something really difficult."

On stage, the host appeared. All the women fell silent, the lights dimmed, and the noise in the venue gradually subsided.

"According to our back-end statistics, the specific number of tickets for each of the three contestants is as follows:"

"Lu Chujiu, 1672 cards; Jin Lan, 1881 cards; Qin Yunshang, 7964 cards!"

As soon as he finished speaking, many audience members spontaneously cheered, but the sound was not loud because almost half of the audience were Japanese and they did not understand what the host was saying, and were completely confused.

Guo Xiaoran patted his chest and said, "Luckily, the points for tickets are fixed. If the points were based on the number of tickets, we wouldn't have a chance in the first round."

Meng Xing smiled, but it was a bleak smile.

My ambition had just been slightly ignited, but it was immediately extinguished by the harsh reality.

The huge difference in ticket sales is no longer just a matter of popularity; it's a stark contrast in strength.

However, seeing that Qin Yunshang's name was only 20 points ahead of Jin Lan in first place on the scoreboard, he felt inexplicably pleased.

Meng Xing closed his eyes.

I'm sorry, Brother Chen Liang.

Even if it means taking a shortcut today, I'm going to take your number one spot and make it my turn!

"Embracing in the afterglow of dusk / Your tenderness is like the evening breeze / Gently caressing me / The stars twinkle in your eyes / They are the dreams I lost and found again..."

As Jin Lan's voice rang out and the lead singer finished, the stage lighting effects came on full blast, instantly energizing the crowd.

He Su and Yu Xiaoxiao were immediately impressed by Jin Lan's performance.

They've all watched Jin Lan through so many episodes. Before, Jin Lan's performances weren't very good, but today they're already showing promise.

"Jin Lan has made great progress!" Yu Xiaoxiao said.

"Hmm." He Su nodded. "Good song choice!"

The style of Meng Xing's song is clearly similar to Chen Liang's previous songs, showing that he has grasped the correct way to interpret Jin Lan's music.

The lyrics are simple, the melody is catchy, and the rhythm is strong; in other words, it's a pop song.

However, Jin Lan's stage performance was very good, and the audience's attention was on her singing and dancing, so the quality of the song itself seemed less important.

Next to the stage, there was a soundproof booth where Qin Yunshang and Lu Chujiu were sitting on the sofa.

Inside the soundproof room, there was only a small screen displaying the live stream, but there was only visuals and no sound.

This is to make the competition more exciting. The contestants cannot hear how the other contestants sing or know how they are scored. As a result, they will have to choose their opponents blindly in the subsequent PK rounds.

Lu Chujiu stared at the screen and said, "The reaction at the scene seems to be very enthusiastic."

Qin Yunshang nodded and said, "Hmm. It seems Jin Lan is very well prepared this time."

Lu Chujiu turned to look at Qin Yunshang, and nervously licked her lips.

She suddenly felt that Jin Lan was very brave.

Because she is under tremendous psychological pressure right now!

After learning that Chen Liang's true identity is JX, who could remain calm?

Making them compete against such opponents is like sending them straight from the beginner village to the final boss to challenge the demon king.

The live stream camera panned to Meng Xing and Guo Xiaoran below the stage. Both of them had confident smiles on their faces, and the seat next to them was empty—that was Chen Liang's seat.

Lu Chujiu silently felt that sometimes, being completely ignorant is a kind of luck...

After Jin Lan finished singing, she stood on the stage, panting, with a thin layer of sweat on her back.

The stage lights came back on, and the host appeared on stage smiling, raising the microphone and saying:

"Okay, let's thank Jin Lan for the wonderful performance."

"The judges are currently scoring urgently, but the scores won't be announced until the very end. Now, let's interview Jin Lan. Jin Lan, how do you feel about your performance?"

Jin Lan caught her breath and said, "I think it's alright."

Some audience members started clapping, followed by applause, which was an encouragement to her humility.

The host said, "Jin Lan, after you finish singing this song, you may have to leave this stage at any time after the scores are released. Do you have any regrets about this stage?"

Jin Lan took the microphone and stood there stunned for a long time.

She had been focused on singing practice and hadn't rehearsed the post-competition interview. Since she's not very good at expressing herself, she didn't know how to answer.

The host encouraged, "Is there anything you really wanted to do but haven't been able to?"

Jin Lan blurted out, "It would be great if I could collaborate with Chen Liang on a few more songs."

"Uh, huh?"

The host was caught off guard by the answer.

The camera quickly focused on Meng Xing's face, where he looked embarrassed.

Jin Lan looked completely bewildered.

She didn't realize she had said the wrong thing; that was truly what she thought, and she blurted it out in a moment of impulsiveness.

She only just realized that Chen Liang was JX. If she had the chance to collaborate with JX, who wouldn't want to do more songs together?

However, to those unaware of the situation, it didn't sound like that at all. Many fans of the pairing in the live stream exclaimed that they were shipping them and flooded the chat with comments:

"Indeed, if love had a color, it would be bright blue!"

"Haha, now that Jin Lan has said that, what will Meng Xing think!"

"When the camera cut to that scene just now, I felt so sorry for Meng Xing!"

As soon as Jin Lan finished speaking, Jiang Xinhai, sitting in the audience, gritted his teeth:

"I told you! Chen Ya is just using work as an excuse to pick up girls. Xiao Qin, you've been fooled! He's treating this talent show like he's building his harem!"

Qin Yun Chu broke out in a cold sweat and explained, "It's a misunderstanding. I asked him for help..."

Gu Yuqing grinned mischievously and said sarcastically from the side:

"Luckily, Jinlan is young. If Chen Ya had met her before he met Xinhai, wouldn't that have been another kind of fate? Maybe she would have been Chen Ya's first love?"

She still harbors resentment about her "first love," so whenever she gets the chance, she takes the opportunity to tease Jiang Xinhai.

As expected, Jiang Xinhai flew into a rage after hearing this, stomping his feet in anger.

Qin Yun Chu gave up on explaining and sat to the side in silence.

Their war is something I can't interfere with; let them be.

……

Next, it was Lu Chujiu's turn to go on stage.

For some reason, she performed a little off this time, seemingly due to nervousness.

After she finished singing, the host asked her the same question.

Lu Chujiu was also taken aback by the question. She had been in a soundproof room and couldn't hear the sounds outside, nor had she heard Jin Lan's reply, so she wasn't prepared for this question.

However, she reacted quickly, thought for a moment, and said:

"I feel it's a pity that I've never collaborated with Teacher Chen Liang before. I wish I could have him write a song for me."

As soon as she finished speaking, not only was the host speechless, but the viewers in the live broadcast room burst out laughing.

The camera immediately cut to the audience seats. Just now, Meng Xing was embarrassed alone, but now Guo Xiaoran and Meng Xing are embarrassed together.

Lu Chujiu has a higher EQ and spoke much more tactfully than Jin Lan. She has never worked with Chen Liang before, so naturally she wants to do so once.

However, while it sounds fine on its own, what Jin Lan said just now gives the impression that both contestants want to cooperate with Chen Liang.

Jin Lan, who had collaborated with Lu Chujiu several times, regretted not collaborating with her more often, while Lu Chujiu, who had never collaborated with Lu Chujiu, regretted never having collaborated with her at all.

To the audience, it just sounds like—Chen Liang is incredibly popular!

The live stream chat was flooded with comments again:

"Hahaha, although that man didn't come to the scene, his legend is everywhere!"

"Time will tell. It remains to be seen which group will come in first, but the winner between the lyricists and composers has already been decided!"

"This shows that the contestants are all smart enough to know which lyricists and composers have real talent and which are just seeking fame and fortune."

……

"..."

Qin Yun Chu sat between the silent Jiang Xin Hai and Gu Yu Qing, feeling a chill run down her spine.

The murderous intent of the two men was so palpable that even she, an outsider, could sense it, creating a low-pressure zone in this small area.

"Cough cough..."

Qin Yunchu cleared her throat, wanting to say a few words in Chen Ya's defense, and said:

"It's just because Chen Ya is popular and strong. Other contestants want to cooperate, but that doesn't mean... it doesn't mean he's here to choose a concubine."

Gu Yuqing: "..."

Jiang Xinhai: "..."

Qin Yun Chu suddenly felt that she was making things worse by trying to cover up her mistakes.

Forget it, Chen Ya, good luck to you! It's none of my business!

……

Amidst great anticipation, Qin Yunshang made her appearance.

As soon as Qin Yunshang appeared on stage, the audience cheered, and many Japanese audience members also applauded.

Most of these people came for Qin Yunshang. They couldn't understand what she was saying or seeing, and they only knew Qin Yunshang. Now that the person in question had appeared, they were naturally happy.

Therefore, Qin Yunshang's entrance was significantly more impressive than the two who had just entered.

The host said into the microphone:

"Qin Yunshang, are you under a lot of pressure?"

“A little.” Qin Yunshang replied succinctly.

"Chen Liang didn't show up this time. If he hadn't come during the campaign segment, your score would have decreased by a quarter. Aren't you under pressure?"

Qin Yunshang smiled and said, "It's fine as long as he gives me the song; it doesn't matter whether he comes or not."

The host smiled and said, "So, you have a lot of confidence in his song?"

“I am very confident in myself,” Qin Yunshang said. “The only thing I’m not sure about right now is that Chen Liang left me several songs before he left, and I don’t know which one to sing first.”